Supporting means for typewriting machines



July 14, 1925. 1,546,116

' C. H. BRADT SUPPORTING MEANS FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed Dec. 7,1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lll July 14, 1925. 1,546,116

c. H. BRADT SUPPORTING MEANS FOR TYPEWRITING MACHINES Filed Dec. '1,1921 2 sheets-sheet 2 27 /Z (1MM-muroV Patented July 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.-

CHARLm H. BRADT, OF GBOTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO CORONA TYPEWBITIBCOMPANY, INC., OF GBOTON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION l' NEW YORK.

SUPPORTING MEANS FOB TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application led December 7, 1921.

To all whom t mag/concern.'

Be it known that I .CHARLES H. BRADT,

State of New York, haveinvented certain nea7 and useful Improvements inSupporting Means for Typewriting Machines, of which the following is a-specication This invention relates to improvements 1n supporting meansfor typewriting machines, and has for its principal object to providesimple, efficient and inexpensive means for supporting a typewritingmachine on the body of a typist in position for use. The improvementsare .especially applicable to encased portable typewritng machinesandare designed to permit use of such machines without` employingstands, tables, desks, or the like for supporting the same duringoperation.

To the foregoing and other ends, which will hereinafter appear, theinvention consists in the features of construction, arrangements ofparts, and combinations of devices set forth in the following-description and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. i

In the accompan ing drawings, Figure 1 is a sidi; elevation showing oneembodiment of the invention applied to the well-known Corona typewritingmachine, the machine with its attached ycase section being shownsupported on the lap of a seated operator in position for use. Y

Fig. 2 a section taken on th'e line 2 2 of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 a perspective view of one of the retaining members shown in Figs.1 and 2;

Fig. 4 a fragmentary sectional view showin a modified form of retainingmember;

Fig. 5 a perspective View of another form of retaining member;

Fig. 6 a vertical sectional view taken through the longitudinal centerof a retaining member constructed as shown in Fig. 5, the leg-engagingportion of sald member being shown flexed laterally;

Fig. 7 a perspective view showingV the two sections of the carrying casedetached;

Fig. 8 a plan view of the base section of the case, a art of the machinebeing shown in dotted lines and the retaining members being showndetached and placed within the base section;

Fig. v9 a sectlonal view of the closed case various constructions.

Serial No. 520,590.

taken on the plane of the line of Fig. 8', themachlne proper being shownin dotted lins 1n its folded condition within the case; an

Fig. 10 a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 8.

The invention is susceptible of embodiment in constructions other thanthose illustrated, and supporting means embodying the invention may beem loyed in connection with typewriters and) other key-operated orkey-controlled printing machines of Referring to the drawings bynumerals,

11 designates the stationary frame part of,

the well known Corona typewriting machine and 12 the folding frame partthereof. This machine is adapted to be folded from an extended operativecondition (illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2) into a compact inoperativecondition in which it may be entirely enclosed within a carrying case,asy shown in Fig. 9. The carrying case comprises a base section 13,having upstanding flanges or side edge portions 14 and a rearkupstanding edge portion or flange 15, and a box-like cover or topsection 16 detachably and pivotally held to the rear flange of the basesection by laterally separable hinge'members 17 and 18. The top sectionis provided with a carryin handle 19 and the base section is provi edwith a front transverse hinged fla 20, said top section and flap beingprovlded with cooperating parts of a hasp lock 21.

The frame 11 of the typewriting machine proper is provided with rubberfeet resting on base 13 as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 9 andsaid machine is securely held to the base section of the case againstrelative movement thereon, the rear wall of the frame being forced downbetween flange 15 and springy metal fingers 22 on a plate 23 fastened tothe base, and a screw 24 held to the frame passing down between two ustanding fingers 25 on said plate, while tg upstanding arm of an anglebracket 26 held to the base engages in a slot in a bracket v theretaining have provided means cooperating with' the base section tosecurely support the machine upon the legs' of a seated operator inposition for operation.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a pair of sheet metalretaininv members are shown detachably held to the base section at theirupper ends and having leg-engaging arms 28 depending below the basesection and so shaped as to extend downwardl around the outer sides ofand partly beneat the thighs of the operator when the base is laced uponthe operators lap. The retainmg members shown in Figs. 1 to 3 are formedof relatively long and narrow flat strips of sheet steel hardened. andtempered to render the members springy or resilient. The upper end ofeach retaining member is bent laterally and downwardly to form. aresilient and substantially flat. ressure arm 29 substantiall parallelwith tie flat upper portion 28*l o arm 28 and preferably so spacedtherefrom that the flange or u turned edge 14 of the base section w1llbe rictionall clam ed between arm 29 and the upper en 28 o arm 28, asshown in Fig. 2. The flat perpendicular ortion |28 of arm 28 of mem r orclip 4is as long as the height o edge 14 of the base, or may be lon erif desired, and arms 28 are curved or nt lso as to extend downwardl andinwardly under the base. It will be o vious that the hook-like upperends of the members may be readilyattached to and detached from the basesection, and that when said members are attached to the base section ofthe encased typewriter, said section with the attached typewritingmechanism may be securely supported on and clipped to the legs of aseated operator just above the knees by iiexing arms 28 and passin thesame down about the outer sides o the thighs. By pressing slightlyoutward on arms- 28 with the legs, the operator may cause arms 29 tocramp against the inner faces of edges 14 of the base and presslaterally outward in opposite directions thereagainst so as to securelyhold the machine against shiftin movements on the lap. The resilience oft e retaining members is advantageous as the base section is grippedwith a yielding pressure, the retaining members engage the legs with ayielding pressure, and. the ,supporting means may be readily placed onand removed from the legs of the operator.

In Fig. 4 a rigid metal retaining member is shown having its upper endbent laterally and downwardly to form a rigid pressure arm 30 parallelwith the upper end of a thigh engaging arm 31 the lower rtion of whichcurves inwardly so as to extend artly under the thigh. Arm 30 is spacedarther from the upper end of arm 31 than the thicknessV of part 14 ofthe base section and when outward pressure is exerted on arm 31 arm 30will crampv against the inner side of part 14.

y In Figs. 5 and 6 a. resilient retaining member or clip is shown, saidmember being constructed in the sam'e manner as the member shownin Figs.1 to 3, except that portion 28 is slotted vertically along two parallellines as shown at 35 to form a depending spring tongue 33 and portion 28is cut away to form a relatively wide Vertical slot 32 merging withslots 35. This construction increases the flexibility of the legengagingportions of the retaining members andprovides a spring tongue whichcoopcrates with arm 29 to frictionally grip edge 14 of the base sectioneven after considerable outward liexure of arms 28, as shown in Fig. 6,whereby accidental fore and aft relative creeping between the basesection and the retaining members, as Well as rocking of the retainingmembers on the edge of flanges 14, is prevented. This construction alsoprovides supporting means which may be readily and comfortably used bypersons varying greatly in size and will very securely and steadily holdthe machine on the operators lap.

When not in use the retaining members may be detached and placed withinthe carrying case as indicated in Fig. 8.

What I claim is:

1. A retaining device for the purpose set forth, comprising a resilientsheet metal member having the upper endthereof lbent laterally and thendownwardly to form a short depending arm spaced from the main bodyportion of said member, said member having a resilient downwardlyextending tongue stamped from the main body portion thereof oppositesaid depending arm.

2. A retaining device for the purpose set forth, comprising a resilientmember formed with a short depending arm spaced from the upper endthereof and provided with a resilient depending tongue opposite saidarm, said member having the lower` portion thereof turned laterally andunderlying said arm.

3. A holding device for gripping under outward lateral thigh pressure anupstand- -ing side flange of a machine base resting on the lap of aseated operator, comprising ,a member having a relatively long andnarrow body portion doubled upon itself at its upper end to form adepending flange-gripping arm spaced from the body rtion,/the bodyportion being substantia y parallel with said depending gripping armthroughout the length of said arm and having a thigh-engaging portionextending downwardly and laterally across thei verticali plane of saidarm.

4. A holding device for encased portable typewriting machines havingattached base case sections provided with upstanding side flanges,comprising a resilient member hav-` ing a laterally bent lower portionadapted to extend down the outer side and partly under the thigh of aseated operator and provided at its upper end with a downwardly facinghook-portion overlying the laterally bent portion and adapted to engageover a side flange of the base case section of a machine, said hookportion and laterally bent portion being ada ted to prevent upwardmovement of a ase section resting on the lap of a seated operator andsaid hook portion being adapted to grip a base section side flange witha cramping action under lateral preure of an operators thigh exertedoutwardly against the lower4 portion of the member.

5. Detachable means for holding a flanged base member of a portabletypewriter upon the lap of a seated operator, comprising a pair ofindependent and interchangeable retaining devices each having its upperend doubled upon itself to form a depending ange-gripping arm spacedfrom the main body portion of the device, the main body rtion of thedevice being rmanently nt laterally and exten ing downwardly andlaterally across the plane of the depending flange-gripping arm.

6. Supporting and carrying means for portable typewriting machines,comprising a base member having) u standing edges flanges, a coverdetacha ly eld to the base member and forming with said base member whenattached thereto an enclosing case for a typewriting machine, a handlesecured to the cover member, means carried by the base member fordetachably holding a typewriting machine against accidental movementrelatively to the base member on the face of said member at which theedge anges are located, and a pair of holding devices ada ted to iitwithin the case together witlli a typewriting machine and also adaptedto be attached in upright positions to opposite edge flanges of the basemember when the cover member is removed and the base member placed inupright position on the lap of a seated operator, each holding devicehaving a hook-like end portion adapted to beengaged over one edge flangeof the base member when said member is placed upright on an operatorslap and having a main body ortion extending well below the base inposition to be engaged by the outer side of the adjacent thigh of theoperator when the hook-like end portion is engaged over an edge flangeof the base member.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiix my signature.

CHARLES H. BRADT.

